As a result, access to light was limited to the street and yard facing edges of the building. Taking cues from Chicago's historical pattern of face-brick fronts and common brick sides, terra-cotta colored paver bricks were employed as a brick screen on the street. This creates a distinct and contextual facade that filters natural light thereby reducing the cooling load from the direct southern exposure. At the yard-facing side of the building the brick screen, executed in common brick, transforms a second-floor patio extending the perceived edge of the space.

A bi-folding, glazed door folds away to extend the usable area into the patio. Brick, both reclaimed and new, was critical to aesthetic considerations. Chicago is a city of brick, tapestried by the infinite variability of the material's module and mass. The structure is ultimately anchored within this context—the material is used to provide structure, respond to the context, filter light, and create a distinct identity for the project.